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Uruguay’s Luis Suarez has hit the headlines once again, having been accused of biting an Italian player during last night’s World Cup match. The British Newspaper Archive can reveal that biting isn’t a modern phenomenon in football matches.

An article describing Sunderland football team’s experience in Germany has been discovered by one of our customers in a copy of the Dundee Courier from 1913.

100-year-old Dundee Courier reports that ‘biting is allowed’

The Dundee Courier included a shocking report from Sunderland FC’s captain, Charles ‘Charlie’ Ballany Thomson. Thomson stated that in Germany, ‘they can kick you up into the air and bite you when you are coming down’.

Sunderland FC won the English First Division in 1913. The team then went on a tour of Budapest, Vienna and Germany, winning their matches against the German teams Hamburger SV and Hertha BSC by 5-0 and 7-0.

Researching football history using old newspapers

The newspapers you can search online at The British Newspaper Archive will tell you a lot about the history of football. There are often strong parallels between what’s happening in the ‘beautiful game’ today and what occurred 100 years ago.